This invention is directed to in improvement in the pump apparatus and method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,511 which discloses an Eddy Pump invented by Harry P. Weinrib. The aforesaid pump works on a unique principle of generating a swirling vortex column of liquid by a vortex generating member instead of the usual conventional impeller. The vortex generating impeller illustrated in the patent has a plurality of flowing streams flowing through narrow ducts or passageways to a central axis at which the streams are combined into the vortex column of fluid having a high angular velocity and a high outward velocity component which is directed through the pump inlet into the ambient fluid where its energy is dissipated and where its energy swirls the ambient liquid and/or solids causing a counter flow of the fluid in the opposite direction inwardly through the pump inlet and about the counter-flowing vortex column.
Pumps operating in accordance with the above description and in accordance with the principles disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,511 have been successfully operated in a number of different environments including the pumping of water, pumping of gravel, pumping of dredged blue clay from a harbor bottom and pumping of heavy viscous sewage sludge having a solids content of 10 to 15 percent solids by weight. It has been found particularly when pumping very viscous materials such as sludge that the narrow restricting passageways in the vortex generating means or runner shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,511 may become clogged with sludge.
When dredging, various diverse materials including rocks, gravel, man-made debris and other materials, some of which could be wedged in the narrowing passageways in the vortex generating runner when traveling through vortex generating runner. In such event, there could be considerable downtime cost or loss of efficiency due to such blocking of the passageway. Also, the direct impingement of the sand, gravel, debris and other abrasive material against the rotating vortex generating runner may cause a fast wearing of the runner and it may be desired to be avoided.
Further, the pump disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,511 illustrates a helical mainstream column of fluid which flows from the pump inlet directly toward the rotating runner and then this material is turned through a right angle turn to flow from the illustrated pump. Manifestly, the entire casing is filled with swirling fluid and this non-mainstream fluid interchanges with the mainstream fluid which flows through a short path between the pump inlet and the pump outlet. This mainstream fluid is a helically swirling fluid which must be changed through the right angle; and it has been found, that improved results in flow may be obtained by eliminating this right angle flow of the mainstream swirling helical liquid which swirls as it flows from the pump discharge pipe.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved pump apparatus and method to overcome the above described problems.
A still further object of the invention is to provide an eddy pump of improved construction.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and which: